California Zinfandel is one of my favorite wines, but I've been pondering something about it lately. Maybe it was the extra time off around the holidays, giving my brain time to reflect instead of react. Regardless, I know we have some real die-hard zin drinkers in this group, and I was hoping someone would be technically proficient, too. There has been much discussion in the past on this topic, but not from a technical perspective.
My question is, why is Zin typically not an ageworthy wine? Ageworthy in the sense that it rarely improves beyond a few years. Improves in the sense of not losing it's fruit while gaining complexity. The general consensus is that these wines do not improve very often with long term age, despite some with high tannins, high alcohol levels and thick, viscous textures. For myself, I have not been into wine long enough to have tried to age Zin 15 to
20 years, but I have seen a general consensus amongst this group as well as various wine critics. I believe it was Bill who mentioned that he has experienced or heard of a few Geyserville's from the 1970's that closed down for a long time and then opened back up.I'm curious as to thoughts, opinions and facts on the subject,
Dark Helmet